Torellian Invader

The Estes Torellian Invader is the only finished rocket I still have that I built when I was a kid. It was sold as a two-pack with another sci-fi kit, the Orion Starfighter, around 1980. I remember that I assembled the Starfighter and might have primed it but hadn't painted it. It might still be in a box somewhere in my house.

I had put so much work into painting the Torellian Invader and getting all the decals on that I was afraid to fly it. My track record with recovering rockets was not great in those days, so this wasn't entirely an irrational fear. I don't know exactly when I built this rocket, but I finally flew it in 2022, so I told everyone it was "about" forty years old. I replaced the shock cord, which had crumbled to dust, and put a good nylon parachute in it. It flew great on an A8-3.

A future project I'd like to do is a 3" or 4" upscale of this rocket. I also have an unbuilt Estes Super Neon XL, a very similar rocket, which I plan to turn into an upscale Torellian Invader.

On the pad for its first flight
The Estes catalog page for the Starfighter Combo Kit. Eight dollars!